This is the season of going home for family reunions, particularly between children working in big cities and their parents living in rural villages.An annual exodus of as many as 20 million Koreans has been in full swing for homebound trips to celebrate the three-day "Seollal" (Lunar New Year's Day) holidays, which begin today.With gifts in their hands, though small, and some money in their wallets, the people travel to their hometowns to see their parents, relatives and friends, and to pay their respects to their ancestors together in a ritual called "charye" on the morning of Seollal, which falls tomorrow this year.For the people of the "Orient," especially Koreans and Chinese, the "real" New Year starts tomorrow, Feb. 16, this year, not on Jan. 1 on the Gregorian calendar.It is one of the two most significant and festive traditional holidays together with "Chuseok" or Aug. 15 Full Moon Day on the lunar calendar often dubbed "Korean Thanksgiving Day."The celebration of Seollal and Chuseok lasts three days each: the day before, the day itself and the day after, compared to only one holiday for the solar New Year's Day, Jan. 1. Happily this year, the holiday extends to four days thanks to the ensuing Sunday.There was a war to book buses, trains, boats or planes tickets before they all sold out from a few months ago and traveling by one's own car usually takes over two to four times the usual due to bumper-to-bumper traffic.TVs are so busy relaying live the traffic conditions across the nation as a broadcaster says, while showing the traffic flow on main expressways, "As of 10 a.m., it will take eight hours from Seoul to Busan ..." Even stranded in a car, the people are merry and happy because parents and friends are there waiting for them. The people are also happy preparing food to be placed on the table as an offering to their ancestors; and the charye or ritual begins with a deep bow, a sign of respect and praying for the well-being of all family members, followed by a big family feast featuring eating of "tteokguk" which is sliced (from a long stick of round rice cake symbolizing longevity) rice cake soup in beef broth, believed to add a year to one's age.Now, the highlight, at least for children, of the day follows, with the kids bowing (their greetings) deeply with clasped hands, called "sebae," to elders, who "should" in return give them an envelope stuffed with cash and words of blessings.The year 2018 is the Year of Dog, according to the Chinese zodiac featuring 12 animals representing 12 years from mouse to pig. As a zodiacal year carries that zodiac animal's characteristics, the dog, the 11th animal deity, means a friend and loyalty.Yet, the social landscape of this festive Seollal is ever changing. Money and stress are mainly responsible for the new picture. Many young people feel pressured by the financial burden of gifts for parents and preparations for the holiday. Nearly 80 percent of wage earners questioned said they felt "uncomfortable."About 40 percent of them even said they would not like to go home due to the expenses. Just a cell phone call is good these days for many. It is unfortunate to confirm by these figures the reality that the Seollal holiday, which used to be full of heart and affection, is rapidly becoming an economic burden, instead.The younger generations, who have to suffer without fail during their family get-together, appear to be stressed by elderly family members' constant questions about marriage, employment or school records. As a result, experts on family affairs and psychiatrists advise older people not to ask such "taboo" questions any more in this day and age when the unemployment rate is ever increasing along with the average age for marriage, much to the lament of society.On the other hand, there are also an increasing number of senior citizens who live alone on the poor side of town, estranged from or deserted by their children, without anyone with whom they can celebrate the holiday. This winter's irregularly cold weather adds salt to the wound.The government usually works out various programs to support the lonely senior citizens but faces a limit. A proverb goes, "Each spoonful of food for 10 people makes a good meal for one person." It's the time for people to make a united effort to help elderly citizens in the shadier places of society.This year's Seollal is something special thanks to the ongoing PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which is the biggest global ice and snow sports festival, highlighted by the participation of North Korea. There still are millions of North Korean refugees and their children in the South who have no way to go home in the North for any national holiday like Seollal.All people must be wishing and praying that the sports extravaganza will usher in peace on this part of the planet by providing momentum for Pyongyang to get rid of its nuclear weapons.Joining the people in praying for a peaceful national holiday and the chance to go home to my birthplace Pyongyang, I listen on YouTube to "Goin' Home," the spiritual-like song, adapted from the theme of the second movement, Largo, of Antonin Dvorak's (1841-1904) 9th Symphony, "From the New World." Recommended are the versions by Paul Robeson of the United States and Sissel Krykjebo of Norway."Goin' home, I'm goin' home ...Mother's there expecting me,Father's waiting too, lots of faces gathered there, all the friends I knewI'm just going home ..."Happy New Year!Park Moo-jong is a standing adviser of The Korea Times. He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English daily newspaper, founded in 1951, from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter of the daily since 1974. He can be reached at moojong@ktimes.com or emjei29@gmail.com